[AllStarZ]

You know, if a cockpit is going to be implemented, it probably should be different for every fighter and bomber.

Speaking of, I want a look back feature. I want to see who's chasing me, a feature rather un-there in retail but one that is quite important for other dogfight sims or whatever.

[ssmit132]

3) Removes the big headache of figuring out how to position the internal cockpit pof inside the ship pof so that the struts are in the correct spot, but the standard externally viewed cockpit isn't all intersecting your internal pof.

Are you going to design the system so that the internal model will only show up if the ship is viewed in the cockpit, and the cockpit on the normal model will show outside? (Then it wouldn't slow down everytime you turned towards the ship with the complex cockpit.)

Also, don't bother trying to make space for messages, the comm system directives or the escort list - they just take up way too much precious room.

These can be left in their original positions.

I want a look back feature. I want to see who's chasing me, a feature rather un-there in retail but one that is quite important for other dogfight sims or whatever.

We already have one.

[Vasudan Admiral]

3) Removes the big headache of figuring out how to position the internal cockpit pof inside the ship pof so that the struts are in the correct spot, but the standard externally viewed cockpit isn't all intersecting your internal pof.

Are you going to design the system so that the internal model will only show up if the ship is viewed in the cockpit, and the cockpit on the normal model will show outside? (Then it wouldn't slow down everytime you turned towards the ship with the complex cockpit.)

..yeah that's what I said.
The internal cockpit would be a separate pof used in place of the ship itself, while the external cockpit is done just as they are being done now.

You know, if a cockpit is going to be implemented, it probably should be different for every fighter and bomber.

Err, well unless you're volunteering to make like 25 separate cockpit models, I can tell you now that it's not gonna happen. Not because FSO would be incapable of supporting it, but just this one cockpit took me a long time to texture - and even though I was probably going a bit overboard on the detail on it, it's not the sort of thing you can skimp on.

Scooby:
Problem with having a pilot is what happens when you look around in the cockpit - especially down, how do you handle the head? Do you have a pilot model without a head, put the camera in the head or just have no pilot? From past experience with the previous version of my cockpit (which had a pilot) actually having a pilot mesh gets really problematic with things like bits of the pilots head being visible from the cameras POV, so I gave him the boot for the new one and just followed HL2's example.

[Scooby_Doo]

Hmm good point.  Well when I exported the Sim mesh with Simpe, what you see was what was included in the base mesh, (body free... head extra  )

And since no one can see into the cockpit, the head isn't really needed.  That way you can see your legs, but not the inside of your head   
Trying to clean up the mesh now, it comes in around 1500 polys.

[Vasudan Admiral]

You'd need some kind of rotation restraints in any potential free-look system though, or else you'd look down and see the stump of your own neck - which I think would be a bit disconcerting.

[Scooby_Doo]

Hahah ya

something like this

[Vasudan Admiral]

That's cool and ....disturbing at the same time o_o

[Scooby_Doo]

Sorta reminds me of that terrible dinosaur hunting game, except it's a guy this time and he's naked!
The camera's position isn't quite right.

Course this all means I'll have to go back and gut my existing models and remove their cockpits.  But then I do have to go back and redo their normal maps once I get a new video card. 

However if I figgle it just right, I don' t have to worry much about making it look connected with the main hull as I do now.  Add what looks like a door frame panel around the edges.

[Vasudan Admiral]

Nono, you don't have to gut old models - the system this kind of cockpit is for would have each different cockpit as a separate pof. These would probably be attached to something like a hud config table or something that would specify the hud layout (or it would render the hud to the texture - whatever happens).

In the individual ships tables, you would have a line that specified the cockpit pof that particular ship uses, NO 'show ship' flag (as this would override the internal cockpit), and you would line the eyepoint up in the pof as normal. If the end user then turned cockpit view on, while in the inside view (ie, not chase view), the game would place the specified cockpit model so that it's eyepoint lined up with the eyepoint specified in the ship pof.

Then the components of the hud would be moved around to where they look like they're being displayed on the cockpit models console screens (or again it would render the hud to the texture - whatever happens).

[Titan]

ok................... 

[chief1983]

I love this idea, it's definitely something the  SWC could use.

[Titan]

naked people? or just the improved cockpits in general...... wait; i already know the answer. still, that would be cool, being able to pan around the cockpit.... provided theres a button that returns you to perfect forward instantly...... cant tell you how many times i got screwed up in games like CFS3 cuz of that

[chief1983]

Heh, I hate CFS3 for lack of that support too, I missed my CFS2 functionality.  'W' ftw.

[Scooby_Doo]

You know, if a cockpit is going to be implemented, it probably should be different for every fighter and bomber.

Umm ya... I've got umm 36 fighters already done that would need cockpits...

[Vasudan Admiral]

Oooh, I like the screens, buttons and switches on the front section there - nice. (Needs a darker floor though I think - it stands out too much there)

Also, that reminds me - since we don't yet know how they'll be implemented, it'd probably be a good idea to have a lot of texture space available to the console screens for now. It's still possible the HUD will end up being rendered to the texture itself, or to a separate overlay polygon or something, and if that's the case it'll need a lot of res in order to be able to read the text.

[Scooby_Doo]

I would be guessing that each hud entry (radar, shields...etc) would have their own seperate textures, or a combined texture (either one is good)  The cockpit resolution shouldn't matter as thats a seperate texture from the hud.  In fact if we could just get the hud as it is right now into a texture, then we'll be good to go with placeable hud.  Also that way any customized hud styles (b5/SW/WC...etc) will remain intact

i.e. game loads hud styles.  game renders stats to the hud texture.  the game then displays the hud texture to the appropriate areas (probably a special texture named "hud").

[Vasudan Admiral]

lol, your pilots have leather seats!
Mine just slum it with the cheapest cloth on the market.

Actually - here's the texture I used to make the seat if you want to try it out:

(just greyscale it and size it appropriately and I think it looks really good)

And it's looking nice. Leather seats aside it has that gritty-real feel I'm a big fan of in sci-fi stuff.
Can you show us a 1042 res pilots eye view?

[Scooby_Doo]

I'm not sure what apeture to use on the camera... but

20mm


24mm


at 35mm the caution light is at the bottom and at 50 mm the instrutment panel is completely beneath you.

[Flaser]

A good cockpit-view system needs both pan & zoom (fov) settings to be workable with real instuments.
Check out Lock On.

[Titan]

awesome pictures, but i dont understand a thing you're saying. still, it DOES look good.